Binding Journey
by Ranma1286
Summary: Raditz shows up at Earth, and Nappa is with him! What will the Z warriors and the NWC do against this unexpected threat. Doing some revising to help distinguish paragraphs, and chapter 3 is now up.
1. Chapter 1

This is a Ranma ½ Dragonball Z Crossover. This is also the first fic that I have ever posted on the internet, (tried to write several others, but they never seemed too good). Per usual, I will go into detail about copyrights, such as that Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, and DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama. This fic starts somewhere before Ranma fights Saffron and a few years before Raditz shows up.

Binding Journey Chapter 1

Cologne watched the rain pour through the windows of the Nekohanten. Her aged, wizened body sighed as she exited the dining room and entered the kitchen where she was preparing the evening meal. She had been contemplating her position here for the past few days, more specifically on whether or not her great grand-daughter was going to be successful in capturing the heart of one Ranma Saotome. Lately, she had been having her doubts. Initially, she had believed that Ranma was another simple male, albeit extremely strong and gifted, that in he would easily cave into her attempts to bring him into the tribe. Yet he consistently surprised her again and again with his ability to adapt to every single situation that she threw at him. Recently, she has even begun to somewhat fear him. He had grown incredibly strong over the past few months, especially after his fight with Herb.

A presence at the front of the main doors to the restaurant startled her. There was a deep foreboding coming from there, and she immediately hopped on top of her cane to the front room and waited. The door opened and two men wearing gi's of some sort walked in. Actually, one man appeared to be supporting the other who seemed to have a wound on his chest, most likely fatal.

Cologne slowly approached the pair. She could feel temporal energy swarming around them, much like the nanban mirror's effects when it was used to time travel.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she slightly demanded. The two walked a couple of feet farther before collapsing in a heap onto the floor. The aged Matriarch rushed to their side and looked at the two. What she saw nearly shocked the breath out of her. Though the faces looked older, roughly two or three years. There was no doubt in her mind that these two were the disgruntled half-blind Amazon Mousse and her apparent son-in-law Ranma Saotome. She quickly went about checking for wounds on the two men and gasped. Her Son-in-law was on the verge of death, and Mousse was not in much better shape. She hastily picked both of them up and brought them to her bedroom, laying them onto her bed gently before applying some herbal ointment onto their injuries. Thank goodness Shampoo was out on deliveries, even if it was pouring rain outside, and what she believed to be the 'normal' Mousse to be chasing after her.

"E….elder…." The prone form of Mousse whispered just barely loud enough for her to hear. Cologne brought her hand to his mouth in a shushing gesture.

"Quite, you need to save your strength while I attempt to heal you." She already new that there was nothing she could do for the pair, having checked their injuries and seeing that they were too grievous and too late to tend to them properly. The Myopic Amazon opened his eyes and looked at her with a stare that could have penetrated lead. Gathering his breath, he started to talk before going into a coughing fit that brought up an alarming quantity of blood. She pushed his head back down onto the pillow, but he resisted.

"No! I have to tell you this before it's too late, and I need you to listen." He paused briefly to gather his strength.

"What I'm going to tell you is vital and must be heard with open ears. We are both from the future, four years or so to be a little more precise. We came back to warn everyone that a powerful and great evil is coming, an alien race known as the Saiyans, and we need everyone to be prepared for when they come….." He broke out into a violent coughing fit, hacking up more blood and nearly losing consciousness, but with grim determination, he continued.

"…uhgg…in about two years, a member of this alien race by the name of Raditz will show up looking for his brother Goku. Goku was sent here twenty years ago to destroy the human race and make the planet Earth ready to be sold on a planetary market to the highest bidder, but he had fell off a cliff, causing him to lose his memory of the mission he was sent on and now defends the planet with several other warriors. Raditz was beaten, but not before transmitting the happenings of the battle to the prince of his race, Vegeta, and Nappa, who in turn nearly wiped out all of humanity, save for Ranma and myself. Ryoga stayed behind to distract Vegeta while we used the Dragonballs to wish us back into the past. Before the wish took effect though, Vegeta sent a Ki blast that went completely through Ryoga and we got hit by the tail end of the explosion." Mousse gritted his teeth in intense pain before continuing.

"In my pocket is a data disk along with a mini-pad to use it with. It has details and instructions on what to do to prepare and who to find. It also has been reprogrammed to read out the power-level of a person and record them. This is important Elder. The human race depends on your ability to prepare us for them." Cologne held out her hand as Mousse gripped it with surprising force, nearly crushing her hand as he cried out in anguish. Gathering himself for one last time, the dying Amazon closed his eyes before speaking.

"When we die, get rid of us in secrecy. No one should see us. Bury us, or better yet, burn us, for that is how our friends died defending this planet, and we to want to go out the same way." He paused briefly before letting a tear roll down his bloody cheek.

"…and elder….I missed you." With that last phrase, the proud Amazon warrior let his last breath escape his body before succumbing to the reaches of death. Cologne reached over and gently caressed her ward's face. She had detected no falsities in his eyes as he told her his story. Looking over at her son-in-law, she nearly let out a sad sigh. Ranma was also dead, having died in the middle of Mousse's speech. She sat down on the bed dejectedly, sitting there for ten minutes before reaching into the recently deceased amazons robes and pulling out the aforementioned data disk and mini-computer. She stared at them for a few seconds before setting them down on the bed-stand. She quickly stood up with grim determination. She would honor their request to be burned, though she would need to leave the city. The only place she could have a large bon-fire where no one would ask questions would be in the wilderness. The aged matriarch quickly walked downstairs to the kitchen. She turned off the stove then took out a pen and paper and quickly wrote that she would be out of town for a few days and set it down on the front counter of the dining room. She went to her bedroom and picked up the warrior pair. Oh, would she give these two an honorable death. She was going to shake the heavens with their funeral.

"No, not just their funeral, but humanity's." She quickly gathered a few supplies, including the data disk and computer, and headed out of the Nekohanten through the back door. She needed to be quick if she was to get into the wilderness unnoticed.

-----------------------------------------------

Two days later…

Ranma sat in the Nekohanten with nervousness and anticipation. Cologne had came over to the Tendo Dojo early in the morning before school, without Shampoo surprisingly, and told him that she had something to show him, something important, and that she wanted him to meet her at the restaurant after school. Ranma involuntarily rubbed his head. Akane had hit him extremely hard after he said that he was coming here after school was over. The pigtailed teen grumbled under his breath about uncute tomboys and conniving old ghouls before suddenly feeling his being crushed by a gnarled wooden cane.

"Watch who you call an old ghoul Ranma." Cologne said from behind him. Ranma turned around quickly and was about to yell at her for hitting him before he realized what she had said.

"Wait, why didn't you call me Son-in-Law?" Ranma said with confusion. Cologne stared at him with eyes that seemed to be on fire before walking into the kitchen.

"Sit still for a moment while I retrieve a few essentials." Ranma started grumbling again and was about to stand up and walk out in frustration when Cologne yelled from the kitchen,

"Sit down right now!" The pigtailed martial artist immediately sat down from the authoritive tone in her voice. She came back in holding what appeared to be a hand-held computer device which appeared to be nearly futuristic in appearance. Cologne sat down across from him and once again stared at him with a fierce look of wisdom in her eyes.

"Everything I'm about to tell you to should be taken straight to heart, and that is exactly what I need you to do as well, for the survival of the human race. It is crucial that you do not interrupt me. Understand?" Ranma was about to nod sarcastically, but then perked up at the mention of the human race ending.

"What do you mean Old Ghoul….OW!" Cologne removed her cane from the indentation it left on his head.

"I told you not to call me that. Young people never give their elders respect." She muttered before continuing.

"This device that I hold in my hands belonged to a man who came from approximately four years into the future. I know that you know that time travel is possible, what with you attempting to use the nanban mirror the way you did. This device gives in detail about the happenings in the near future, more specifically about the arrival of an alien race that is intent on eradicating all life on this planet so that they may sell it to the highest bidder on a planetary market. These aliens, which are called Saiyans, have a physiology that is very similar to our own, so much that they look identical to us, except for a tail a lot like that of a monkey. The first Saiyan, named Raditz, that came to Earth was defeated by his brother, Goku, who ended up growing up on earth from near infancy due to circumstances that are complicated. Before Raditz died, he opened a communiqué to the prince of his race, Vegeta, and the general of the Saiyan army, Nappa, that the earth held mystical artifacts called Dragonballs, which when gathered together, can grant nearly any one wish." Ranma nearly jumped out of his seat in excitement.

"Any wish! That means I can cure my curse!...OW!"

"I told you not to interrupt me. As I was saying, Raditz informed Vegeta and Nappa that the Earth held the Dragonballs, and they immediately made their way to Earth in the time span of one year. Goku had gathered several warriors to help fend them off, but the might of the Saiyans was just too much. Three of these warriors that were gathered managed to use the Dragonballs to wish themselves back into the past. One stayed behind to keep the Saiyans at bay while the other two came here, dieing in the process of warning me about the trials that are to come. One of them…..was you."

Ranma's eyes widened at the implication that he had died defending the planet. The wizened Amazon let this information sink in for a few seconds before he spoke up.

"You said that two people came back, so who was the other one?" Cologne hopped to the counter and picked up a cup of tea, taking a sip before replying.

"Mousse was the other who returned with you. Unfortunately, Ryoga was the one who stayed behind to fend off the Saiyans while you two made your wish." Ranma dropped his eyes at the table as if looking for an answer on its surface. Cologne hopped to his side and put a hand on his leg in comfort.

"I know this may feel confusing and the idea of you dieing is somewhat frightening, but you need to understand that the future you other selves faced does not have to be the one that you have to. We have a chance, right now, to alter things so that we can be prepared for the events that are to come." The pigtailed boy of sixteen years took all this information in as best he could.

'The thought of me dieing is kinda scary…..but the thought of me losing is even worse. Besides, we have a chance to change things, make it so we can be prepared. And after all, Ranma Saotome does not lose!' After finishing his thoughts, he looked back at her with his familiar arrogant smirk that he always carries around.

"What do we need to do?" Cologne smiled at him with approval over his sudden morale boost.

"First of all, we need to recruit at least a couple more fighters. From what information this data-pad gives us, the only warriors from Nerima were you, Mousse and Ryoga." Ranma nodded and then started listing off names out loud.

"Well, there's Pops, Mr. Tendo, Shampoo, Ucchan…..uhm…" The young martial artist stumbled briefly as he tried to think of more names. Cologne shook her head.

"None of them will do. Your father, although very talented in his own right, is simply too old to be trained the way that is needed, and the same for violent fiancé's father. Shampoo, I'm afraid, has reached her limit. It's my fault really, allowing her to pursue you daily instead of keeping up her training. No, the only ones I can think of here is that doctor that you frequent and the Kuno boy." Ranma almost scoffed at her suggestion.

"I guess I can understand Doctor Tofu, but Kuno? He can't fight without his precious swords and he's far too deluded to even come to grips with anything that's going on."

"I'll admit that he relies far to heavily on weapons, but his maniacal sister has been poisoning him for awhile now from what I can tell, and if his system is cleansed, then he will most likely turn out to be a reasonable individual." Ranma looked at her skeptically, then realized something.

"Are you telling me that we could have removed our Kuno problem if you had simply cleaned out his system! Why didn't you do anything about it before!" Cologne grinned at him in her scheming way.

"Simply because He kept you alert and on your toes with his deluded randomness, and also because nobody asked me too."

"Arghhhh!" Ranma half-screamed in frustration. Cologne chuckled before continuing on with business.

"I am going to go recruit the good doctor and the Kuno boy and inform them of the happenings. I want you to immediately head toward the mountains, at the area you fought Ryoga after I trained him in the Bakusai Tenketsu. I've already informed Mousse of what needs to be done, and he should meet you by the time you get there. I'll have to find Ryoga and inform him also, though that is going to prove most difficult." Cologne handed him the data-pad.

"I want you to take this and study it. There are a few things in there that can help you, I'm sure. The most noticeable one is it's ability to measure the effective power level of a target and recording it down." Ranma looked at the apparatus and pressed a button. On the screen showed several numbers alongside several names with a date on top of the screen. The date read about four years from now.

"So these readings are from when we fight these Saiyans, huh?" Ranma said rhetorically. He skimmed through some names and read the numbers next to them.

(In my story, Goku didn't die when he fought Raditz because Ranma and the group were also there and were able to help enough that no one died. This, in turn, prevented Goku from getting training from King Kai, which is what allowed him to drive off Vegeta all by himself.)

"This Vegeta's power level is 18,000….Goku's is 1950…..No wonder we lost. No one has a power level higher than 2000."

Ranma pointed the computer at Cologne and the number 35 appeared.

"Your one of the toughest people I know, and your power level is only 35. This Saiyan is like 300 times more powerful than you. How the hell are we supposed to get strong enough to fight something like that when it took 16 years of constant training to reach the point I'm at and I still have problems fighting just you?"

"Actually, I'm hiding my ki so the scanner cannot accurately detect my true level, which reminds me of something that I need to tell you. From now on, you must not hold in your ki at all. I know you were taught to hide it in so that an opponent cannot gauge you very easily, but with the trials that are coming up, flaring your ki to its maximum is going to greatly help you increase your power level. I don't let mine out simply because I'm not going to be training with you, for reasons that are my own."

"So what is your power level then, and you still haven't answered my question."

"According to that gizmo, it's 109. Go ahead and take a look at yourself without holding in your aura." Ranma turned the computer around and scanned himself. Turning it back around he read the number on the screen.

"114! That means I'm stronger than you are." Cologne nodded sagely.

"Yes, I've known for awhile that you would surpass me within a few short months. I also know that the Hibiki boy is almost stronger than I am as well. I was surprised when I measured Mousse and came up with 83. Mastering that hidden weapons style must have also helped hide away his aura also. He could have beaten Shampoo at any time he wanted, though I wonder why he hasn't. To answer your question, according to that device, by the time this Vegeta arrived, your power level was around 1400. I'm digressing though, and we need to set out and do what is needed of us immediately." Cologne whipped up a few miscellaneous items before setting out the door.

"I'm going to talk to the good doctor and attempt to fix the Kuno boy, and hopefully find the Lost Boy before long. If everything goes right with the Kuno boy, we'll have all the funding we need to help us build a gravity room, whose blueprints are currently inside that device you carry. When I'm done with them I will send them to your location and then inform your family of the goings on. Remember, do not suppress your aura, let it flare. Push it as high as possible at all times. Get as much intense training in as possible before I get there. When everyone is assembled, I will go over what our plan of action is in detail." With that, the aged Matriarch of the Amazons hopped out the door and out of sight. Ranma sighed before heading out the door himself. This was going to be a long couple of years.

-----------------------------------------------

Four Days Later…

Two blurs appeared briefly before disappearing again. A series of impacts could be heard as a form finally materialized out of nowhere. He was shirtless, only wearing Chinese silk slacks and a pair of thick coke-bottle glasses. His breathing was heavy and took a knee to gather his breath. Another form appeared across the clearing, also wearing only a pair of black Chinese silk pants and had his hair braided in a pigtail.

"You alright there Mousse? I didn't hit you too hard did I? That last kick I threw was a little stronger than normal."

"Save your pity for someone else, Saotome. I just need to catch my breath." Ranma sighed at his stubbornness to accept any form of help. It has been three days since he's been here with the blind Amazon and he was already haggard from the Amazon's near relentless assault on him. At every opportunity he hears, "Saotome, how dare you lead on my precious Shampoo!" or "Prepare to be punished!" and other various threats and actions. Ranma was getting sick and tired of this and he was going to put a stop to it now.

"Hey Mousse! I'm tired of your attitude and constant threats towards me about you 'precious' Shampoo. Get it through your thick skull that I don't like her! In fact, I downright almost hate her! At every opportunity she gets she is constantly hounding me, sabotaging me, drugging me, tricking me, pitting the people I live with against me, and attacking people in their households whenever I glance at someone in a way she doesn't seem to like. And don't get me started on her attempts to constantly kill Akane. Sure I don't like the Tomboy all that much, but she would be a hell of a lot nicer to me if Shampoo wasn't always hangin' on me all the time. So quit with your bitching and crying about me and leave me the hell alone!" Ranma yelled loudly.

'Wow, I didn't think I had that kind of anger built up inside me. Feels pretty good to get that all out' Ranma thought before looking over at Mousse's position and saw him with a mix of emotions on his face. Mousse stared at the ground in anger and guilt before muttering something. Ranma walked over to him and stared at him.

"What was that?" Ranma asked curiously. If it was an insult about him he was going to kick the living shit out of the cursed blind boy.

"I said….that you're right." Mousse said begrudgingly. Ranma looked at him as if he had grown a third head. Mousse slouched his head into his hands.

"I've been trying to get together with Shampoo for most of my life, ever since I was eight. She was always the most skilled, the most beautiful, and was always nice to most everyone she came across. I tried my best to show her that I was a good mate, that I was the best suited for her. I trained really hard every single day so she would notice me. One day I asked for a spar and she agreed in her normal happy way. During the fight I managed to trip her with a low spin kick to the back of her knees. I went down and wrestled with her, getting her in a grapple hold that she couldn't break out of. She was shocked when she realized that she had to concede the match. She had never lost at anything before, and she took it rather personally. After I started to leave, she picked up a large rock and swung at the back of my head. The blow knocked me unconscious and I later found out that the blow also took away a good portion of my eyesight. People would think that I would hold a huge grudge or seek revenge against her, but for some reason I couldn't hate her. I still loved her as much as I did before the match. She changed after that match. She became cold to people, attacking them without any provocation, and even through all of that, I still sought her out. Then you came. Defeating her on the challenge log destroyed her confidence in herself, even more so when she found out that it was actually a guy that beat and not the redheaded girl that she had thought you to be. Through the months of chasing you, though, she started liking instead of hating you. This made me furious. You receive her love unconditionally, even though you resist her every attempt to snare you. She loves you, a man who does not even like her, over someone who spent his every moment devoting himself to her well being. I even held back against her whenever we sparred in hopes that she would see that I truly care for her and her feelings instead of the way you brushed her off."

Ranma sat down next to the distraught Amazon boy dejectedly.

"I…I never knew."

"I know you didn't. No one did. It's not that I'm even truly mad at you anymore. I fell out of love with Shampoo a while ago. She is far too abusive and deluded to realize anything beyond herself." Ranma stared at him confused.

"Then why do you still attack and threaten me?" Mousse genuinely grinned at him.

"Well, being around you for the time that I have motivated me to train harder than I ever had before. Besides, you're the best sparring partner that I've ever had." Ranma grinned back at him.

"How about we start over, hmm?" Mousse grinned even wider at him before holding out his hand.

"I'm Mu Tsu. I'm from an Amazon village in China and am mostly blind without his glasses. I also turn into a duck when hit with cold water."

"I'm Ranma Saotome. I've spent most of my life on the road and is engaged to countless people I don't want to be engaged to. I also turn into a girl when hit with cold water." Ranma said, taking Mousse's hand and shaking it firmly.

"Come to think of it, I haven't changed once since I got up here." Mousse said with surprise.

"Me too. I hadn't realized that either. Guess luck is on our side huh." A sudden wave of water broke their conversation apart with fervor. A voice behind them alerted them that someone was there.

"I would have expected that martial artists of your caliber would always be aware of your surroundings." Turning around, the now cursed pair looked upon the forms of Cologne and Ryoga Hibiki. The Lost Boy decided to rub it in a little.

"What's wrong Ranma, can't take a little wetness." The redheaded girl nearly leapt at Ryoga with contempt. Ryoga backed off slightly and waved his hands in front of him in a warding gesture.

"Whoa, I was just kidding. I heard your talk with Mousse and it made me start to think about the way I've been acting towards you. I realized a while ago that everything that went wrong in my life wasn't your fault, and that nice speech," Ryoga gestured to the now wet duck, "made by him finally got me to see that you're also a good person, Albeit arrogant and egotistical, but good nonetheless." Ranma glared at him at the mention of his large ego, but shrugged it off.

"So what, you're done randomly attacking me for no reason too?"

"Well…..maybe not randomly. I've got to keep you on your toes after all." Ryoga smiled broadly. Behind them all a small sniffle brought the trio's attention to the Amazon Matriarch who had her eyes closed and was faking wiping a tear.

"My goodness, such camaraderie…..makes me want to cry." She opened her eyes to the stares of three young men. Actually more like a boy, girl, and a duck.

"What, can't a girl have a little fun at others expenses as well." She looked back at their still staring faces.

"Fine. If you're all going to be a bunch of crotchety old men then I guess we'll get started and get down to business." Ranma grinned at her then looked around confused.

"I thought you we're going to bring Kuno and Doc." Ryoga spoke up in response.

"After getting his body cleared out from all the toxins, Kuno told us that he didn't think he would be much help. His mind was clear and he decided that he was tired of fighting and needed to do something else with his life. But he's still going to help us with any supplies or money that we need. Doctor Tofu said he would train with us, but only to understand the ki flow in the body better so he can heal any of us who needs it. He's currently with Kuno looking over a copy of the blueprints of the gravity room. He said he'll meet up with us when he fully understood the concept of the gravity room, which will probably be in a few more days. With the proper help and equipment, though, they believe it'll take about two years to complete." Mousse, now a guy again thanks to a flask of hot water from Cologne spoke up.

"So we have two less people than we thought we would, and two years of waiting for a gravity room. Well, this kinda sucks." Ranma glanced over at him before speaking.

"I guess we'll just have to continue like we always have. Train hard every day, the natural way."

"Well then, listen up really fast then young ones." Cologne said with wisdom and authority that comes with 300 years of experience. "Before we start off, I want to teach you three the basics of the technique called Bukujutsu, the art of flight." Ranma immediately perked up at the mention of this.

"You're gonna teach us how to fly, like Herb?"

"Sonny boy, with the help from that mini-computer, I'm going to teach you how to fly circles around that wanna-be Musk Prince." Cologne said in anticipation. "Follow my lead, and do as I do."

End Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

Binding Journey Chapter Two

One month later…

Cologne looked on at the four young warriors as they did their exercises. All of them had managed to pick up the concept of flight surprisingly well, especially the doctor Ono Tofu. He was the last one to begin training and was the first one to succeed in the art of flying. Ranma took it as a sort of challenge and was in the air alongside Ono only moments later. Ryoga and Mousse seemed to have a little more trouble with learning the technique, but the soon got the hang of it a day or so later. Right now, they were currently carrying large boulders as they did laps around the small valley as fast as they could fly. They were almost done with their rounds, and soon they would start their personal training routines which targeted each person's weaknesses. Ono will do some extreme conditioning work to toughen up his body and give him more stamina. Mousse will do heavy meditating to help him perceive his surroundings better and attempt to remove his eyesight handicap. Of course he will be doing this while holding a boulder above his head with one finger. Ryoga needed some serious training in keeping his focus in battle so she's going to have him do his hardest Katas wearing heavy weighted clothes while she had Ranma insult him while the pigtailed boy did his own exercises. Ranma himself is going to do heavy strength training which seems to be his tendency to ignore, usually always focusing on increasing his speed whenever he trained. Cologne looked at the computer she held in her hands, glancing over the latest readings she recorded from her students. She needed them to reach around the 250 power level area when Raditz arrives on Earth. At this rate, they might just make it by the time that happens. She turned her attention back to the lunch she was preparing as the haggard group touched down close to her location and slowly made their way over by the campfire and instantly collapsed in a heap. Maybe she should let them rest a bit before continuing. She laughed a little while pouring out the stew into separate bowls and setting them in front of the jumbled heap that was supposed to be Earth's last hope. As she set the fourth bowl down, she realized that there were only three people in front of her.

"Curses, that lost boy's sense of direction is starting to really annoy me." She quickly ran through the clearing and caught the sight of Ryoga asking a squirrel if had any clue where camp was. The old woman bounded over to him and grabbed his shirt sleeve and tugged.

"Oh good, there you are. I guess the squirrel knew where camp was after all."

"Don't be ridiculous. This is the fifth time this week that I've had to come looking for you before you wandered fifty miles out of Yokohama." She said exasperated. An idea immediately struck her.

"Say young Hibiki, how good are you at sensing auras now?"

"Uhmm….pretty good, I can sense the others real easy from here, and I can sense Tokyo fairly well out in the distance." Cologne allowed herself an all-knowing smile to fill her face.

"So, why don't you simply use your aura sense to allow you to get where you need to go instead of relying on your eyes and instincts, hmm?" Ryoga looked at her with confusion which quickly turned into ecstatic joy.

"Why didn't I think of that before! I'll never get lost again!" He yelled as he ran off. "Guys! I'll never get lost again!" Cologne sighed as she watched Ryoga run off into the woods. He's going to still need a lot more practice using it. At least he somewhat went in the right direction….

-----------------------------------------------

Two Months later…

A swarm of energy blasts filled the air nearly blocking out the sun and replacing its light with their own personal glow. Shouting could be heard from above as a body impacted the ground with enough force to create a four foot crater. Moments later another body landed in the same spot, stirring up the dirt and clouding the vision in the area. A voice thirty feet above laughed heartily.

"Hahahaha, you guys should really remember about me instead of always focusing on each other. How many times have I blind-sided because you do this?" Down below, a couple of people were struggling to stand up out of the heap they were in.

"Damn it Ranma, get your dumb ass off of me!"

"I would if you would let go of my arm Lost Boy!" While those two struggled, Mousse watched with patience until he threw his arms up.

"Might as well…." The blind Amazon said adjusting his glasses before hurling a ki blast at the still struggling duo. A large explosion of rock and dust emanated from the point of contact, which was not so coincidently where Ranma and Ryoga happened to be. A couple of angered yells filled the air as Cologne sat with Ono off to the side discussing future events. A stray ki blast from the air came hurdling towards the two before being swatted away casually by Ono. He smiled at Cologne and she smiled back at him, but then dropped her eyes towards the ground. The doctor noticed a change of attitude in the old woman.

"What's wrong?" The aged elder looked back up at the obviously concerned medical practitioner.

"Oh, it's just an old woman's wish to help out. Seeing them training and getting so strong in such a short time makes me want to join them."

"Well, why don't you? I know you're old but I also know that you're a lot more spry than anyone 300 years old should be." Cologne looked back at the ground again, almost seeming depressed.

"I….can't. There are certain circumstances that are about to happen that will soon prevent me from doing anything." Ono looked bewildered.

"What do you mean, what event…….ahh, I see……Do you know how long you have?"

"Less than a month. I found out as I was looking through the computer's journal files. Supposed to be heart failure. Guess I can't live forever, eh."

"You know as well as I do that no one can live forever. Every person has to meet Fate at some point."

"I just got used to living for so long, the thought of dieing never crossed my mind." The two sat in a somber silence for a few minutes watching the heavy sparring match that was being held in the air.

"When my time comes, I need you to keep up their training. You're extremely knowledgeable and know everything that needs to be done and how to achieve it. The night before it happens, I will leave quietly so know one finds out. Tell them that I left on some business that needed to be attended to. They are young and impressionable and knowing of my death will most likely affect their training greatly, and we can't have that." Ono nodded seriously before turning his head back to the fight and deflecting another errant ki blast.

"Would you pay attention to where you're throwing those? My hands are getting numb!" The doctor said loudly. Ryoga yelled back from the semi-large distance.

"What are you talking about? We're throwing those on purpose! Gotta keep you on your toes after all!" Ono's frown turned into a grin at the comment. He looked at Cologne as he stood up and started towards the group.

"Ok then, let's see how well all of you fatigued young ones fare against a fully rested opponent." On that note, Ono flew towards the trio and engaged them in combat.

-----------------------------------------------

One month later…

"So where's the old ghoul at?" Ranma asked Ono as they sat around the morning fire waiting for breakfast.

"She had urgent business to attend too. I know you may think 'what could be more important than helping prepare to defend the Earth, but she needed to go. While she is gone though, I will take up your training instead. I know everything that you need to know and am also fully capable of teaching you while participating during any combat exercise."

"Well, that's fine I suppose," Ryoga replied while serving everyone breakfast before continuing, "I wonder what she needed to do though?"

"She didn't really specify. Just said she needed to go." Ranma shrugged nonchalantly.

"Doesn't really matter much. Even if she is gone, our priority is still training to fight these Saiyans."

"Ooohh, Ranma said priority. How long did it take you to find out what that meant?" Ryoga teased the pigtailed boy.

"Quicker than it takes you to find the bathroom." Ranma retorted. He didn't get a chance to add on anything to his last statement before being tackled by the Lost Boy. The wrestling quickly escalated into a full-out sparring match between the two. Mousse coughed quietly to grab the doctor's attention.

"I have a question. I don't know if you know why, but shouldn't we make contact with these other warriors; tell them what's going to happen?"

"Cologne briefly told me that she read somewhere in the computer that telling these other fighters about the upcoming fight would be bad because they have not experienced time travel before and probably would not believe us, most likely even believing us to be some sort of enemy threat. Another reason was that if too many people know about the future, the timeline will alter drastically and potentially for the worse." Mousse nodded and shrugged.

"That's what I pretty much thought. Pardon me for a second." Mousse said before suddenly diving into the brawl that was occurring right next to them. Ono sat where he was for a moment; letting his thoughts wander towards Cologne before looking at the fight ensuing next to him. Letting a "Meh," escape his lips, he jumped into the fray and joined the fight.

-----------------------------------------------

Elsewhere in Space…

A lone space craft gradually made its way to a backwater planet in the Sol System at a steady pace. It was a spherical looking craft, looking like it carry no more than two human sized life-forms at most. True to its design, two beings inhabited the craft as it made its way on its journey. One of these beings, a member of a race known as Saiyans, had long black hair that went down to past his waist. He wore atypical Saiyan battle armor and wore a device across his eyes, known as a scouter. The other being, also a Saiyan, was much larger than his counterpart. A mountain of muscle is about all you can describe about him. The only difference aside size was the lack of hair and a large mustache that covered his upper lip. Looking down at the smaller Saiyan, The larger one spoke.

"When are we supposed to get there! We've been traveling over four months and sharing this crap-tastic space with you is making my back sore!" The smaller one retorted rather angrily.

"Will you be quite Nappa! I still don't see why Prince Vegeta sent had you come with me. I'm fully capable of finding my brother Kakarott by myself."

"Well that's because he doesn't fully believe in your pitiful abilities. You're weak Raditz. You're not even stronger than any of the Saibamen." Raditz growled in Saiyan anger. 'I'll show that overgrown hairless oaf. I may not be strong enough right now, but I'll show prince Vegeta who truly is better.' Turning away from his thoughts, Raditz started pressing buttons on the on-board computer system.

"We have eight months until we reach our destination, so stop your constant bantering and enter cryo-sleep. I'm sure you don't want to be awake for another eight months if you couldn't handle four." The larger Saiyan merely grunted before shifting backwards in his seat. Pressing a button, a glass casing slid over his body and a sort of gas filled the insides of the glass. Raditz grumbled under his breath before mimicking his companion's actions and too fell into artificial sleep.

-----------------------------------------------

8 months later…

"So Kuno, how's the gravity room comin' along?" Ranma asked alertly. This was the first time he had talked to Tatewaki since he's been rehabilitated and was constantly looking for a sneak attack. Old habits die hard. Currently He and Ryoga were at the Kuno estate, more specifically in the basement where production of the gravity room was taking place.

"It's taking a little longer than I expected, but we should still have it ready around the time-table we set up." Tatewaki answered. "I hope this goes well. This project is draining my family funds at a rather quick pace. If we fail this first time to make it work right, I don't know if we'll have enough money to redesign a second one."

"Let's just hope for the best then." Ranma replied. The former kendoist paused for a moment, watching the group he hired to work on the gravity room before turning back to the group.

So how much longer do we have before they arrive?"

"About two days or so. The data didn't specify the exact time the first Saiyan landed. We're pretty much done training for now. Not much else we can do except rest our bodies and relax a little. Me an' Ryoga are gonna go see the Tendo's and my mother before we set off towards camp again. Mousse is gonna hang in town with Doc for awhile before they head back also." Ranma said. Tatewaki nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like an excellent idea. A year of straight training can tax the body heavily. If you don't rest then you may be too fatigued to be of any help during the fight. By the way, how strong are you guys right now? A year of training should have reaped great benefits."

"Well," Ryoga spoke for the first time, "Ranma and I are about even at 245, Mousse is at around 190, and Doc is at 160. Ono took the later months lighter than we did studying the computer for any and all information that could help us."

"I hope that you're all strong enough to handle everything." Kuno said.

"Yeah, so do we. Come on Ryoga, I don't want you to get lost on the way out." Ryoga growled at Ranma.

"Hey, I'm a lot better than I was now that I use auras to guide me instead of my eyesight." Kuno laughed lightly as the duo walked out of the room before frowning. 'I really hope everything we've done hasn't gone to waste.'

-----------------------------------------------

Tendo Dojo…

"Guys, I'm back!" Ranma yelled as he opened the door. He was instantly swamped by two older men.

"Ranma, how dare you abandon your duties to this family by leaving for over a year without any any word. I order you to go marry Akane immediately." The other man held back his tears long enough to add onto the situation.

"Yes, It is a martial artist's duty to uphold family honor above all else. Wouldn't you agree Saotome?"

"Oh yes Tendo. No truer words could have been spoken." Ranma sighed.

"Sorry pops, but I have no intention of staying, and I certainly don't want to marry Akane. I'm just here to say hello before I head over to moms then back to the camp ground."

"Nonsense boy! You have to join the two schools as dictated by your honor. Oh why do I have such a weak, worthless son?" During this all Soun Tendo did was cry about how the two schools would finally be reunited. While plans were being made to have Ranma unwillingly marry the youngest Tendo sister, Ryoga walked in from behind the door and into the kitchen area. Several minutes went by before the young Martial artist had had enough.

"Listen Pops, Mr. Tendo, I really need to get going. You two took up way too much of my time and I really need to head over to moms. I would like to say hi to Kasumi and Nabiki, but that'll just have to wait for a later time now." Ranma said with frustration. "Hey Ryoga, we gotta go! We've spent too much time here and need to head out." A yell could be heard across the house.

"That's alright Ranma, I think I'll just stay here instead. Doc and Mousse said they would come by here anyways, and I'll just go back to camp with them."

"Ok then. Tell Kasumi and Nabiki hi for me." The pigtailed martial artist said before casually throwing the two older men off of him.

"I don't like being held like that. Thanks for nuthin'." With that, the younger Saotome ran out the door.

-----------------------------------------------

Somewhere nearby, a space pod, barely large enough for two, landed quietly and undetected in a park in the middle of the city. It sat there for a couple minutes before slowly opening up, allowing two forms to step out.

"Ahhhh, this is great! Being cooped up in that pod for that long was getting on my fucking nerves."

"Would you please not use such fowl words while around me. Unlike you, I have a cleaner taste of words that I would prefer to hear."

"Up yours, small fry. I'll say whatever the hell I god damn want to, 'cause I'm stronger than you! Now we'll split up. I'll go north and you go south. If you get into trouble, just go ahead and call for help, because we both know you're going to need it. Hahahahaha!" After saying that, Nappa took to the air and flew off towards the north. Raditz Growled loudly.

"Curse you Nappa. How dare you give me orders then insult me! I swear I'll kill you if it's the last thing I ever do." Raditz said with anger before walking southwards. He really wasn't in the mood to fly.

-----------------------------------------------

Nodoka Saotome walked through the marketplace carrying a bag of groceries. Ranma had sent her a letter telling her that he was going to come home for the day and she wanted to make a special dinner for him. She sighed sadly as she set her bags down and sat on a park bench. It's been eleven years since she truly had any time with him, and she was getting impatient. She wanted him to be home with her for good, not gallivanting around out in the wilderness for over a year. She still doesn't know why he left in such a hurry as he did, as if there was some sort of threat against humanity or something. She laughed at that thought before picking her bags back up and continued walking home. She didn't get very far before she was suddenly grabbed from behind and had knife pressed up to her throat.

"Give me all of your money and anything else of value, unless you want this pretty head of yours to be ruined."

"I...I don't have any money on me. I only use checking accounts."

"Well then, looks like you're going to have to pay with something else, now won't you." The mugger said grabbing her chest and giving it a painful squeeze. Nodoka grit her teeth. She would not cry out. That's what this guy wanted. She looked around, looking for anyone who could help her. 'Curse myself for walking through a secluded park.' She was thrown bodily to the ground and was quickly sat on by the mugger in the mount position. 'Ranma, help me…please….'

"What's going here?" A voice said from out of her vision. The mugger immediately got off of her and she was able to see a large man with long black hair wearing some sort of body armor. "What sort of despicable creature would force themselves on a weaker person. Is it because you can't get any willing people to mate with." The mugger turned his knife towards the strange looking man. "Stay back or I'll cut your throat." The stranger simply glared at him before releasing a small ball of energy from his hands, incinerating the mugger instantly. Nodoka looked on in fright and awe before realizing that her rescuer was walking away as if nothing had ever happened.

"You killed him!" She half-yelled. The man grunted in distaste as he continued walking. "He didn't deserve to exist."

"W-wait!" She said as she got up and ran over to him.

"What do you want?" The man said in an irritated tone.

"I…just wanted to thank you for helping me." She said with a bow. "If there's anything I can do for you, I'll gladly do it." Her rescuer growled in frustration.

"I should have just let him take you if I knew you would be this annoying."

"….but you didn't let him, did you." She said. He froze with those words. Why did he help her? He'd seen worse atrocities committed right in front of him, and even did a few himself, so why did he decide to rescue this lady, this female. He found himself getting angry for feeling so weak and emotional about a simple act of kindness.

"Just….go away." He said before continuing onward.

"At least tell me your name." She said. He paused again for a few seconds before turning around.

"I'm Raditz." He said with consternation.

"I'm Nodoka." She smiled back at him. He nearly lost his balance at the sight of her beaming smile. 'What's wrong with me? A female should not be affecting me like this.' He growled angrily at himself before continuing his walking at a faster pace. Nodoka kept on smiling at his retreating form.

"What a nice man that was. Makes me wonder what I saw in Genma." She said out loud before gathering her belongings and renewing her walk home.

-----------------------------------------------

"Grrrrrr….I hate this place!" A very irritated Raditz yelled as he knocked over another tree while he walked. In actuality, though, he didn't hate this place. In fact, he rather liked what he saw of Earth so far. It's not too often that he had the chance to see such a beautiful planet. Most of his time was spent eradicating life on other worlds, usually ugly, desolate planets devoid of any significant life. Even if he had a chance to visit a nice planet for a change, he always had to destroy most life on it afterwards. He was currently grateful for the fact that his mission was to find his brother Kakarott and not create a desolate hell-hole out of this world. No, what he was angry at was the fact that he let a girl affect him so thoroughly and completely.

'It's just a female, so why am I letting this affect me like this. I've seen females raped and killed before and never paid any mind to it, so why protect that one.' He leaned against the side of a building, ignoring a few stares for the clothing that he was wearing. The irate Saiyan rubbed his temples gently to calm himself down.

'Ha! I don't need to know why. I'm a Saiyan and I can do whatever the hell I feel like!' Raditz proclaimed loudly in his mind, seemingly content with the explanation he had just thought of. He continued on walking down the street he was on, continuing his search for Kakarott. He looked around with some disdain. By looking around it was obvious that his brother had failed in removing the life-forms on this planet.

'Kakarott was kind of pathetic though, being born with a power level of two. Doesn't surprise me that he failed. Makes me wonder why he was chosen to do such a job if he wasn't qualified in the first place.' Raditz sighed sadly at his thought. He really did miss his brother, but was never allowed to show it, especially now that their race has less than five members alive.

"Curse Frieza for destroying our people! I swear the Saiyan race will make him pay for what he's done!" He yelled angrily, attracting the stares of random passer-bys. Calming himself down, he continued onwards.

"This planet is pathetic. I haven't detected one person with a power level over five. Maybe this stupid scouter's broken?" He said almost rhetorically, tapping his finger lightly against the device covering his left eye. The moment he did that, a light bleeped softly indicating an incoming message.

(Hey shrimp, have you found your pathetic brother yet.) It was said more as a statement than a question. 'Stupid fool! Stop insulting me and my family!' Raditz thought before replying.

(Nothing. I'm going to check towards the east. This part of the continent doesn't have anything of interest.)

(Well hurry up! I want to blow shit up and I want to make sure your weak brother isn't accidentally caught in one of my weaker blasts.) Raditz pressed a button on his scouter, turning off his earpiece. Curse that giant oaf. Not only does he insult my brother again, but he wished to wantonly destroy this beautiful planet. He punched through a wall he was standing next to in rage, nearly causing the entire side to collapse. Full of anger, he flew into the sky eastward muttering under his breath. "Soon, Nappa. Soon…..I'll make you understand why you should not belittle me."

-----------------------------------------------

"Hello, is anyone home?" Ranma yelled as he knocked on his mother's door. Of course he knew she was inside, he could noises coming from the kitchen, but randomly entering someone's house, even his mother's, was just plain rude. He was surprised when the door burst open and he was engulfed in a monstrous hug by the woman he new as his mother.

"Oh Ranma, I'm so happy that you're here. It's been far too long! Why don't you come inside and sit down at the dinner table. I finished preparing the moment you knocked." She stated. Once inside and settled down, Nodoka instantly started into discussion with her son, having him tell her of everything he's done since he left on his training trip over a year ago, what he's been eating, how many grandchildren she should expect, and so and so forth. Ranma replied as best he could, and fervently denied any accusations his mother made about him making grandchildren for her. He quickly got up and turned on the T.V. as an excuse to get away from her badgering questions. They watched whatever was on, which was the news, until dinner was finished. Ranma quickly took all the empty dishes into the kitchen for his mother while he made relax and watch T.V. for a bit. As her son was washing dishes, a news story about in-city crime rates came on and instantly reminder her of the fact that she was very nearly robbed and raped earlier in the day.

"Oh Ranma, you won't believe what happened to me earlier today." A muffled 'what?' was what she heard through the walls.

"Well, I was walking home from the grocery store today buying the food for the dinner we just ate when I was nearly robbed…." She didn't get to finish he story when Ranma appeared to instantly appear right next to her. She had to beat him away as he manhandled her checking for injuries.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt! Why didn't you tell me earlier!" He yelled frantically as he continued searching her body for wounds.

"Would you get off of me and stop yelling in my ear. I simply forgot what happened is all, though you would think that I would remember something like that, huh?"

"Gee, ya think! Anyways what happened? Did you get away alright?"

"Yes. A nice man came and helped me from the mugger. Had the strangest set of clothing though. Kinda looked like he was wearing science fiction battle armor."

"Well that's good." Ranma said as he let out a sigh. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you." Re added dejectedly. Nodoka petted his hair in the way that mothers do.

"You can't expect to be there every time something happens. You have your own life to live, and I have mine. I can't expect you to coddle me every step I take outside this household."

"Yeah….but I still feel bad. I can't help but care for you." Ranma grabbed his mother in a loving hug and she returned in kind. They sat there for several minutes before Ranma suddenly jerked away in silence.

"What's wrong son? I know you might think hugging your mother at your age is weird but I assure you that…." She didn't get to finish as her son stood up straight and started bolting towards the door.

"Wait, Ranma. What's wrong?" She asked with concern in her face. She heard him say quietly to himself 'It can't be, not for another few days. We're not prepared for this……" He turned around quickly, almost tripping on the rug.

"I sense a huge battle taking place not far from here. The power being generated is enormous. I have to go and check it out, for the sake of this planet's safety."

"What? Wait, I don't understand!"

"This may the reason I've been out training for the past year, and I really need to go!" He said before starting out the door."

"Ooohhh no young man. I don't know what's going on, but you are sure as rain not leaving this household without me. I don't care what you say. I haven't really seen you for nearly the past eleven years and I'm sure as hell not going to lose you now."

"Mom, you don't understand…" He was cut off by a finger pressed against his mouth.

"Not another word from you! Now you are taking me and that is final!" Ranma sighed dejectedly as he picked up his mother and flew out the door.

"Wait, I need to lock the front door!"

"Moooooommmmm!" Ranma said annoyed.

"All right, never mind." She said sheepishly. Ranma would never understand his mother. One minute she was authoritive and mean, and the next she turned into a passive housewife. He shook his musings from his head and flew off towards the direction the battle was taking place.

-----------------------------------------------

"Give back my son, Saiyan!" Goku yelled as he charged towards what he found out to be his brother. "I don't care what you say. I grew up here on Earth and I'm not leaving for anybody!" Goku looked to his left and saw his semi-nemesis Piccolo running alongside him. Before he could turn his head back towards his brother, he was thrown violently aside into a grove of trees, breaking several of them before he came to a painful rest.

"Goku, pay attention! We can't beat him if you keep looking away from him!" Piccolo yelled while engaging Raditz in combat.

"Uhhggg….sorry." Goku said as he quickly got back to his feet and charged back towards the fight only to be hit bodily by Piccolo who had been kicked hard in the stomach and sent flying at Goku's position.

"Damn, this isn't working! We need to work together if we want any hope in beating him, much as I hate to admit it." Piccolo whispered in the young saiyan's ear as they layed in a jumbled heap.

"Now, here's the plan….."

"Now come on Kakarott!" Raditz yelled across the distance. "I don't want to hurt you! Your power level cannot compare to mine, it's useless fighting. Come back with me and help restore the Saiyan race to its proper standing in the universe." Raditz knew why Goku resisted. It's because of his Saiyan heritage. Even with a power level of 412, nowhere close to Raditz's level of 1200, he would never give up without a fight.

Across the clearing, behind a small hill, Ranma touched down on the ground and set his mother down gently.

"Awright mom, I need you to stay here. Period. If you come with me, you'll become a liability and I don't want you to be hurt. Understand?"

"Yes son, I'll stay here. Just be careful. I don't want to lose you." Ranma quickly gathered his mother into a hug.

"I will. I promise you. Ranma Saotome doesn't lose, after all." Giving her his trademark arrogant smirk, he quickly ran stealthily, gathering his aura inwards to prevent detection.

"…..Remember, you promised." Nodoka quietly whispered to herself.

Over where the battle was, Goku and Piccolo exited the grove in a flanking formation, one to each side of the invading saiyan.

"What's this, actual battle tactics? I'm impressed. This is much different than your previous head first approach." Raditz said with some sarcasm. On an unspoken signal, the two warriors charged at an amazing speed where Raditz was standing. The older brother of Goku smiled, deciding to mess up their plan before it was even implemented. The charging duo were taken by surprise when Raditz started towards Piccolo instead of standing in place like the two had planned. The former conqueror-to-be of Earth was suddenly attacked at a furious and unavoidable pace which left him crumpled up in a heap at Raditz's feet. Slowly turning around, Raditz stared at Goku with an emotionless glare.

"Look at this Kakarott," His brother said pointing at Piccolo's unmoving form, "Look at how I beat him, how easy it was for me to totally decimate him. What's to prevent me from doing this to you? He's roughly the same power as you, so it won't be any more difficult." Before he could continue, a voice from behind him interrupted him.

"You want to know why you won't be doing the same thing to him as that green guy? It's because of me." Raditz quickly turned his head towards the voice and saw a human standing not more than ten feet away. Raditz tapped a button on his scouter and nearly laughed.

"What do you think you'll be able to do with a power level of twelve, huh?" He asked with a snort."

"You need to leave," Goku said, "you'll get hurt, maybe killed."

"That may happen, but he's as much my enemy as he is yours." Turning back to the invading saiyan, he replied with a smirk. "As to what I can do, I can free his son and hide him away in a safe place." Raditz turned his head to where he had locked Gohan up, only to find him missing.

"How dare you interfere with me! I'll make sure you die a horribly painful death." Ranma smirked annoyingly.

"I don't think that'll happen." The pigtailed martial artist said. Suddenly Raditz found himself gripping his side in pain. The stupid namek he had left under the category of Out-of-Battle had sent a ki blast into his side. Currently the namek was being supported by his little brother off to the side where he had left his crumpled body.

"This doesn't change anything. I'll still beat the life out of every one of you, starting with you, human." With that, Raditz charged straight at Ranma. Letting loose of his aura, Ranma started dodging at a feverish pace. For over a minute, all the saiyan hit was air as his opponent weaved and ducked all of his attacks. Even though he wasn't showing it, Ranma was doing his best not to get hit by one of the saiyans meat hooks.

'I can't keep this up for much longer. I may be able to read all his moves, but he's too fast for me to keep this up.' Meanwhile in Raditz's mind…

'Damn, why can't I hit him? Even if his power level jumped to 246, I should still be able to demolish him in mere seconds.' His musings were cut short as he had to side step a fist that had come in from behind, followed by a block that prevented a kick from connecting to his head. Goku and Piccolo had realized that they were merely watching from the sides and not participating, so they charged in and quickly had Raditz backed up against the proverbial wall. Purposely taking a hit to the chest, Raditz sent a powerful punch into Ranma's cheek, sending the pigtailed boy flying across the clearing and into a boulder. That was all the opening Goku needed. As Raditz punched Ranma, he quickly grabbed onto his brother from behind and held him in place with all his might.

"Hurry Piccolo! Take him out before I lose my grip!" Raditz struggled against his brother, but lacked the proper leverage to effectively remove himself from his grasp. He looked over and saw the namek charging up a powerful blast that would most likely kill himself and his brother if he isn't able to break free. Before the blast could be released, a yell from the side broke up Piccolo's concentration.

"Wait, don't hurt him!" Nodoka yelled from next to a large tree which she had been hiding behind. Holding her hand was Gohan, who was still crying from what had happened earlier to him. Telling Gohan to stay where he was, she quickly rushed to where Raditz and Goku were struggling and stood between the duo and Piccolo with her arms open wide. Raditz looked over at her and realized who she was.

"It's…….It's you. From the park." He said with bewilderment.

"Wha…get out of the way, lady. I have no problems killing you to remove this threat." Piccolo stated. Nodoka merely stood her ground.

"No, I'm not moving!"

"Mom, get out of the way! He needs to be killed!" Ranma yelled as he gradually got up from the blow that Raditz landed on him.

"I will not let the person who saved my life die in front of me while I have anything to say about it." She said firmly and emotionlessly. Ranma looked shocked.

"What? He's the one that helped you from that mugger you told me about!"

"Yes," She replied evenly, "he is." Piccolo growled loudly with annoyance.

"Grrrrr…..I'm getting annoyed by this. This ends now!" He yelled. Before he could perform his Masenko blast, a presence behind him nearly made him stumble in shock.

"HA! I knew you were weak Raditz, but to hide behind a woman…..but I guess that's what a weakling like you would do." Nappa said from behind the group. Goku turned his head and let go of his brother in shock. This guy was far more powerful than Raditz was, almost four times as much. There was no way they would be able to beat him as they were, let alone the two of them now.

"Shut up Nappa! I am not hiding!" Raditz roared towards the much larger saiyan. Off to the side, Ranma nearly lost his balance, looking ill as he stood there. 'Wait a damn minute! There was only supposed to be one saiyan that came here! Why the hell are there two of them! What the hell is going on? I seriously hope the others have sensed the battle that took place and are on the way.'

"Mom, get out of the way now!" Ranma said loudly as he ran towards his mother's position. Nappa grinned at the running form of Ranma before turning back to Raditz.

"Let me help you realize what it means to be a true saiyan by exterminating her." Nappa said with a grin as he raised his hand towards Nodoka. "A saiyan really shouldn't be hiding behind a woman anyways, even one as weak as you. It's pitiful." The giant saiyan released a blast the rocketed towards the woman's position. Ranma screamed in fright at the sight of the blast heading towards his mother. 'I'm not gonna make it! She's going to die because I brought her here!' He thought sickly. His thoughts were shoved aside as the blast that was heading towards his mother was redirected towards his position. He dodged to the side and looked at his mother. Standing before her was Raditz. His left arm was heavily burnt from deflecting the blast away from his mother.

"I will not let you harm her." He said evenly.

"Ha, looks like you have a soft spot for this woman, Raditz. How could you, a saiyan, fall for a female from such a weak species? Now I know you're as pathetic as I say you are."

"How dare you keep insulting me!" Raditz yelled before pushing off the ground towards Nappa and surprising him with a strong kick to the stomach before following up with a somersault kick to the chin that knocked the larger saiyan on his back. Before Raditz could continue his assault, a meaty hand clasped onto his neck and started squeezing.

"So you turn your back on a comrade, eh traitor! I'll show you how strong I am then." Nappa brought his head downwards and head butted Raditz twice then let go of him in mid-air and kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of him and sending him across the clearing, landing in a motionless heap. Nappa dramatically turned his head towards the group slowly.

"I don't really care if my orders are to bring you back alive, Kakarott. I'm going to kill you and your retardedly weak friends right after I end the life of that traitor." He said while turning his head back to where Raditz's body lay. Nodoka ran up to Ranma and grabbed onto him crying.

"Please don't let him get killed. Please…"She said between sobs. Ranma held onto his mother as he looked at the towering mass make his way towards the downed saiyan's body. He hesitated for a moment before determination set onto his features. He let go of his mother and started running towards the giant saiyan before he was confronted by Piccolo.

"I don't know who you are, but I will not let you interfere. We have a chance for them to fight each other and weaken themselves enough for us to finish them."

"I don't know who you are either, greenboy, but that man saved my mother's life, and I'm not about to let the man who did that die because it would be more convenient for you, and if you get in my way, I'll make you move out of my way." Ranma said with a promise in his voice. Piccolo growled softly and was about to make a move on the pigtailed boy when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Let him do what he wants Piccolo. By the looks of things, the new saiyan is much tougher than my brother, and letting them fight wouldn't help us much at all. Besides, it's not right for us to let this happen." The Namek nearly yelled in frustration, but quickly calmed himself down. Yelling really doesn't fit for someone who has aspirations of world domination. Looking over at the two, he judged his odds of winning if he were to fight them to prevent them from helping.

'The human is strong, but I am stronger. Goku, though, is as strong as I am. I wouldn't be able to take them both on. Damn, this sucks!' He left his mental musings and replied to the group.

"First of all, remove your hand from my shoulder before I do it myself. And second….let's go kill that giant shit-head of a Saiyan."

-----------------------------------------------

High in the sky, beyond the ability for any human to see, three figures flew towards a battle that might decide the fate of planet Earth.

"How much longer do you think doc?" Mousse asked.

"I'd say about five minutes or so, but I'm not sure that will be soon enough." He said with dejection. Ryoga and Mousse gritted their teeth and pushed their bodies harder in hopes of reaching the fight before it was too late.

-----------------------------------------------

Nappa slowly kneeled down in front of Raditz's position, grinning from ear to ear in malicious intent.

"Well then, look what we have here. I was kinda hoping that you were somehow stronger than this, but I must say this is exactly how strong I knew you were, or better yet, how weak I knew you were." Bringing his hand down, Nappa wrapped it around Raditz's neck and lifted upwards.

"Normally I would simply end your life, but seeing as how you're a traitor, I'm going to make you suffer before your end comes." Nappa said bringing his head close to the helpless saiyan, spraying his horrible breath across Raditz's face. Shaking his head violently, Raditz started at the face of his would be executioner.

"Why don't you shut up and kill me already!" Raditz yelled, gathering saliva and spitting in Nappa's face. Wiping it off, the giant saiyan growled in anger.

"You know what; I think I will kill you right now." He applied pressure to Raditz's throat slowly. The smaller saiyan started to black out from the lack of oxygen before he was suddenly released, falling to the ground hard. Coughing violently, he looked up and saw his brother, the namek, and that human who just appeared fighting off the muscle-bound saiyan. He was about to stand up when he heard a yell from above. Looking up he saw three more humans throwing energy blast after energy blast at Nappa. Ranma looked up and yelled in joy.

"It's about time! I was worried that you three would never show up!"

"Yeah, well we didn't want you to have all the fun, though this looks like more fun than I want to handle." Ryoga said. The giant Saiyan was quickly finding himself off-balance from all of the attacks. Deciding enough was enough, he charged at the namek and Kakarott, grabbing them and throwing them bodily through the air at the new group that just appeared. Unable to dodge in time, the trio were hit by the two bodies and quickly plummeted towards earth in a violent impact. As they hit the ground, Nappa prepared to throw a humongous blast of energy at the fallen group.

"Moko Takabisha!" Ranma yelled, releasing his strongest ki attack at the formidable saiyan. The attack knocked Nappa off balance, causing him to release the blast off to the side. Before Ranma could react, a giant hand encompassed his face and lifted him in the air.

"You're a lot more annoying than you have any right to be, human." Nappa said with anger as he started to apply pressure, slowly crushing Ranma's skull. Off to the side, Nodoka screamed in terror as she saw her son slowly being killed right in front of her eyes.

"Nooooooo! Ranma, Mommy's coming!" She cried, breaking into a hard sprint towards her helpless son. Turning his head, Nappa smirked evilly.

"Well now, a mother's love, how touching." The maniacal saiyan deadpanned. Raising his hand, he fired a blast in the direction of the running mother.

"Eaaaahhhhhaaaaaa!" She screamed loudly as the deadly beam of energy bared down upon her. Closing her eyes in fear, she waited for her end to come. When several seconds passes and nothing happened, she opened her eyes. Before her stood the man who she heard as Goku and the young doctor Ono Tofu that her son often frequented. She stood silently in shock for several moments before the bodies of her two saviors fell to the ground limply. Quickly she kneeled down to their position and checked for any signs of life. She let out a cry when she realized that the two were dead.

"Ha! Looks like Kakarott and that pathetic human died saving you! Oh well. HAHAHAHA!" Nappa roared loudly off to the side. A squirming in his hand made him realize that the human he held was attempting to escape. Gleefully he returned his attention to the pigtailed boy. His vision was suddenly on fire when a hand from the human he was holding shot up in front of his eyes and fired an energy blast at point-blank range into his eye sockets. Not prepared for such an attack, Nappa reeled backwards, letting go of the young martial artist. As his vision cleared up, Raditz's voice alerted him from behind.

"You're wide open! Double Thunder!" Across the field, Piccolo also took up a stance.

"Makankosappo!" He yelled, sending the energy towards the defenseless Nappa. Both attacks hit in the back and chest respectively, meeting in the middle of the ribcage and causing an explosion of energy from with Nappa's body. The concussive effect from the two blasts meeting sent a shockwave the sent everyone flying several feet, coming to rest on their backsides. Silence ensued as every able person tried to look through the dust, attempting to capture a glimpse of the form of the giant saiyan. A gust of wind removed the cloud of smoke and debris, revealing a motionless body in a small crater. Taking this momentary lapse in action, Ranma made his way over to his mother, who was straining to stand on her feet. He quickly took his mother into an embrace, hugging her for all the he was worth, though gently enough not to harm her. She clasped onto him in kind.

"Oh son, I'm so glad you're okay." She said between sobs.

"It's okay mom, I'm alright." He said reassuringly. Looking down near his feet, he stared at the bodies of Ono and Goku. He nearly let out a cry of sadness and depression at the sight before him when some yelling brought his attention away. Over where the others were, confrontation was again stirring between Raditz and Piccolo.

"Mom, stay here please. I need to see what's happening over there." He said pointing at the small group. She let go of him and gave him a slight nod.

-----------------------------------------------

"Don't think that we owe you any favors." Piccolo said getting into a combat stance. "Now that your comrade is gone I plan on finishing you off personally." Raditz snorted and tried getting into his own stance. While he did so, a sudden lance of pain tore through his body. He dropped into a kneeling position holding his side gingerly.

"Go on then, finish me. I'm in no position to defend myself. I spent all of my energy in that last blast. Do with me as you see fit." Raditz said before losing consciousness, falling face first into the ground. Piccolo prepared to charge in and deliver a fatal blow when that first human named Ranma ran in front of Raditz and got into a combat stance.

"I already told you, I won't let you kill him. I made a promise and I intend to keep it, no matter who I'm protectin'." Piccolo growled in frustration. Two voices from the side caught his attention.

"Ranma, what's going on here?" Ryoga asked with confusion. Mousse picked the conversation up immediately.

"Yeah, and who's this green guy?"

"This green guy is the Piccolo person we read about in the computer, and the guy behind me is Raditz." The duo coughed loudly at hearing Ranma's words.

"What, I thought that big brute over there was Raditz. I thought only one Saiyan was supposed to arrive, not two. Who's the one we just killed then?" Mousse said loudly.

"I dunno why two saiyans showed up, and the one we killed over there is Nappa." Ranma replied. Ryoga sighed until he realized who Ranma was protecting.

"Have you gone insane Ranma, Raditz is the reason we've been training. He's the person we're trying to kill! Why the hell are you protecting him?"

"Because I asked him to," Nodoka's voice caught their attention, "That man saved my life, and I fully intend to save his as long as I'm fully capable."

"Wait a damn minute. What the hell's going on here? Who are all of you people?" Piccolo demanded. The human trio looked at each other before Ryoga spoke up.

"I'm Ryoga," The lost boy replied, "this is Mousse or Mu Tsu, that is Ranma, and over there is Ranma's mother, Nodoka Saotome." Ryoga pointed to the worried mother who was currently tending to Raditz. "We were sent warning from future versions of ourselves over a year ago that an alien race known as Saiyans was coming to earth. In about a year from now, the saiyan prince will come here looking for the dragonballs in hopes of granting his wish, whatever it may be. Us three also want to use the dragonballs to remove a certain…..curse we each posses, but were to busy the past year training to go out and find them. We also didn't have a way to locate them, so we pretty much forgot about them."

"That's ridiculous! How could you receive a message from people in the future!" Piccolo argued.

"Our future selves wished themselves back one year before Raditz was supposed to arrive. Unfortunately it seems that the saiyans were too strong and totally decimated every capable warrior the earth had to offer, including ourselves, so they wished themselves back so we could prepare ahead of time. By the looks of it though, we weren't strong enough." Ryoga said as he looked at the bodies of Ono and Goku.

"If this is all true, then why didn't any of you contact us so we may have prepared!" Piccolo asked angrily.

"Because," Mousse replied, "we were told that none you would believe us and would in fact fight us believing we were enemies. It was best that you find out about this by yourselves." A crying brought everyone's attention to the two dead bodies. Sitting over Goku bawling his eyes out was Gohan. Quickly making her way over to the crying boy, Nodoka grabbed onto him and gave him soothing motherly sounds.

"It'll be alright little one; everything is going to be fine. Shhhh now…" She said stroking his head gently.

"He'll be fine." Piccolo said loudly and arrogantly. "As much as I really don't like his father, we can simply use the dragonballs to resurrect him, and I guess the human too. If everything you say about the future is true, then we will need all the help we can get." A quite laughing caught everyone's attention minus the still crying Gohan. Everyone save for Nodoka rushed over to Nappa's body when they realized that the saiyan was still alive and was the one making the laughing noises.

"F-fools. My transmitter has been on the entire time, carrying your message to my prince, who by now will be starting his journey here to retrieve these so called dragonballs." Nappa grinned weakly. Piccolo frowned as he walked over to the downed saiyan and quickly but efficiently crushed his neck with a hard stomp. An audible crack was heard throughout the clearing. He turned back to the group.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll let me kill that one off as well." He said pointing to Raditz's prone form.

"Aint gonna happen." Ranma said coldly. Ryoga and Mousse went to Ranma's side quickly and took up battle stances.

"I don't entirely know what's still going on, but you'll have to get by us as well." Mousse said and Ryoga nodded.

"I know you're strong," Ranma said, "But you can't beat all of us now the way you currently are right now." Piccolo frowned. Begrudgingly, he turned around and started to walk off towards Gohan. Picking him up by the neck, he slung the still crying boy across his shoulder.

"I'm taking this one to train. This is the exchange for me not taking that one's life."

"Wait!" Ranma said. "We have a gravity room that's almost ready to train in. It'll push you farther than you could if you trained without it." The former wanna-be ruler of the world scoffed at him angrily.

"I would rather die than train with you humans! I'll make do with what I have and you do the same." With that, the irate namek flew off into the distance. The remaining group sighed as they were left by themselves. The quite was suddenly drowned out as a helicopter appeared over the forest's tree line, touching down away from the group. Several people spewed out of the side, heading in a straight line towards the group. Ryoga made his way over to Ranma and Nodoka and whispered in their ears.

"I don't know who they are, but I have a feeling that they are the other fighters listed in the computer. Now, I still don't understand what's going on between Raditz over there and you two, but if you plan to protect him, I would get him out of here right now or that group might decide to end his life." Nodoka looked over at the oncoming group and then at the prone form of Raditz. She then looked up at her son with pleading eyes. Ranma sighed at the look his mother was giving him.

"I don't know if this is a good idea, but I'll get him outta here for you mom." He was grabbed in a hug that would do an amazon proud before she let go and kissed him on the cheek.

"Let's go then." She said. The two quickly made their way over the downed saiyan where Ranma picked him up along with his mother and flew off towards his mother's house. Ryoga followed them with his eyes as long as he could until they were out of sight. Turning around he saw that the new group had finally reached their position and questions were being fired left and right about what happened and the like.

"Whoa everyone, calm down!" Mousse said loudly.

"What's going on? Who are you two, and who was that guy who just flew off?" The lone woman of the group demanded before looking behind the group and saw the body of Goku and one other person.

"What the hell? What did you do to Goku?" She screamed. At the mention of Goku's body, the others in the group quickly got into battle stances.

"Hold on a minute and we'll explain." Ryoga said. The Lost Boy hurriedly explained the entire situation that had happened, including that they had been informed of future events by future versions of themselves. The scene calmed down after hearing the explanation, and quickly went through their apologies.

"I'm sorry we jumped to conclusions." Bulma said. "With what happened earlier today, we're all a little jumpy. I'm Bulma," She said pointing to herself, "This is Krillin and Master Muten Roshi."

"I'm Mousse, and this is Ryoga." Mousse said before realizing something.

"Wait a minute, wasn't there supposed to be two others with you, a Tien and Yamcha?"

"Well not necessarily." Bulma said. "Yamcha is a professional baseball player and Tien is off somewhere in the mountains."

"Who was the guy who flew off before we got here?" Krillin asked.

"That was Ranma and his mother, Nodoka." Ryoga replied.

"I thought I saw another person being carried away too?" Roshi said. Ryoga scratched his head nervously before replying.

"Well, uhmm….that was…uh….Raditz….." Ryoga said quietly.

"What!" the three screamed. "Why are you keeping him alive?"

"Look, I don't know what's really happening with Raditz, I myself wouldn't mind ending that saiyans life, but it's nothing Ranma can't handle right now. Apparently Raditz saved Ranma's mother's life earlier today and Ranma promised that he would protect him from getting hurt. If worse comes to worse and Raditz starts going off then Ranma will contact us and we'll hopefully kill him while Raditz is weak. Other than that, I don't know what to do." Ryoga told them. It took a little while longer to calm everyone down again before Ryoga continued.

"Whatever you guys may think, we need to start training for when this Vegeta shows up, which is about a year from now. What we need you guys to do is gather your friends Tien and Yamcha and brief them on what's happening. Also we need you to gather the dragonballs so we can wish back Goku and Doc. Hopefully by the time you're done the gravity room we have in progress will be finished." Bulma perked up at the mention of a gravity room.

"Did you say Gravity room? I'm near the end of developing a gravity room myself? Are you scientists?"

"No, not by a long shot. We just have the top minds money could hire working on it down in Nerima underneath the Kuno estate……is your last name by chance Briefs, Ms. Bulma?" Mousse asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?" She replied with her own question.

"Well, the designs we're using were made by you, and I figured that since you made the designs, you could help out in building it."

"You're using my designs!" She said loudly. "But I haven't even put a copyright onto it yet!" She cried out loudly before turning on Ryoga and Mousse.

"How dare you steal my designs!" She said as she started whacking them with her handbag.

"Hey…OW…We're not stealing them! We don't care about any copyrights!" Ryoga yelled.

"Okay then as long as we got that clear." Bulma said happily.

"So that means you'll help out with it?" Mousse asked.

"Of course I will! I am the greatest scientific genius of my generation, after all!" She laughed maniacally. The entire grouped sweat dropped at the scene. Leaning over, Ryoga whispered into Krillin's ear.

"Have we gone over our heads?" The Lost Boy asked.

"You have no idea." The bald monk replied.

"Well then let's get ourselves movin'…..then……" Mousse said with bewilderment as he just witnessed the bodies of Goku and Ono disappear right in front of his eyes.

"Uhm…..what just happened? Where did they go?" Mousse said with extreme confusion, pointing to where the bodies should have been. Everyone looked to where Mousse was pointing and stood there in stunned silence.

"Ackkkk! Where'd they go!" Bulma screamed wildly before pointing her finger at the two newly acquainted humans.

"What did you two do to them?" She said accusingly. Ryoga and Mousse started protesting their innocence while they backpedaled waving their hands in a warding gesture.

"We didn't do nuthin'!" Ryoga stammered, his grammar reverting backwards out of fear.

"That's right; they didn't do anything young Bulma Briefs." A voice from above said. Everyone looked up and saw an old shriveled woman sitting on a crystal ball staring at them evenly.

"…Is that a goblin?" Mousse asked rhetorically.

"Maybe it's an evil Space Imp?" Ryoga added. Two separate whacks, one for each boy, left them holding their heads in pain.

"Calling me names, how rude!" She said with indignity. She looked over and spied Master Roshi.

"Ahhh, hello their little brother. How are you this fine day? Reading any good smut magazines lately?"

"Same old same old. Haven't really come across any good reading materi……Wait! What are you doing here?" He asked loudly and accusingly.

"Well, I'm here to collect the spirits of Goku Son and Ono Tofu so that they may receive training in the afterlife. I was also instructed to tell you by King Emma that they are not to be wished back until the day when the Saiyan Prince arrives. So now that I've told you, I'll be going now. Bye." She said as she flew away into the sky. Ryoga and Mousse stared in bewilderment at the retreating form of the old witch.

"Well, I guess I've seen stranger things……" Ryoga deadpanned.

"…..but that was still weird, even for us. Who was that?" Mousse asked.

"That was the witch Baba, Master Roshi's older sister." She looked at the two as they continued to stare at the old witch's retreating form. "Well then," Bulma said, "How about you show me my Gravity Room."

"Uhh…..yeah, sure." The two said still uneasy.

End of Chapter Two

I'm sure they may be some of you out there who are wondering about a couple things, so I'll start answering what I can.

1. Raditz doesn't actually ever say an attack name whenever he shoots out a ki blast in the Anime/Manga. So I took the name of his attack in the Budokai game series (Double Sunday) and changed it to Double Thunder.

2. I know that Nappa isn't supposed to show up with Raditz, but I wanted an extreme challenge for everyone, so I mixed things up a bit. The reason for this will be explained in later chapters.

Here's a list of everyone's power levels at the end of the chapter,

Goku: 412

Piccolo: 408

Ranma: 246

Ryoga: 244

Mousse: 193

Ono Tofu: 166

Raditz: 1200

Nappa: 3460 (This is to take into account that it's a year earlier than when he shows up in the Anime/Manga)

Krillin: 206

Tienshinhan: 250

Yamcha: 177

Gohan: 4

Please R&R. This 'Is' my first fic and some feedback would be greatly appreciated. If I have any spelling errors, please point them out to me and I will gladly fix them. I don't have any pre-readers to point out the mistakes I make. Also e-mail me if you have any questions that you would like answered, and hopefully I can reply. Arigato!


	3. Chapter 3

Binding Journey Chapter Three

Deep in space, we'll beyond the capabilities of the planet earth to see, a lone space pod gradually made its way through the vast cold of space. Inside the craft, what appeared to be a human male looked over the controls for the pod he occupied. As he leaned to the side though revealed what appeared to be a tail wrapped around his waist, almost like a belt. The man grumbled loudly to himself. This was the part he never liked, the immeasurable wait that always came with space travel. His thoughts then turned to what he had heard earlier, about the so-called dragonballs. His somber mood quickly turned into a heavy laugh that echoed wildly in the small space pod.

"Soon, I will have my wish," He said to himself, "then I will be coming for you Frieza. That is a promise from Vegeta, the Prince of Saiyans!" He yelled loudly while he continued his laughter.

"Just as soon as I get to Earth, then everything will be put back into its rightful place. I'll see to that."

-----------------------------------------------

"…..So you see, in about one year's time the Prince of your race will come to Earth searching for the dragonballs. Understand now?" Ono told Goku for the third time.

"Uhhh…I think so. So you're from the future?" Goku asked naively.

"No, I'm not. You're thinking of the future versions of ourselves that warned us of what's going to happen." Tofu replied exasperated. Currently the two were running down Snake Way in hopes of receiving training from King Kai, a sort of godly martial arts trainer of some renown here in the afterlife. They found out about him from King Emma, the caretaker of all souls who pass into the throngs of the unloving. They had waited several hours in line before their respective turns came, and when they were brought before King Emma they had been informed of the happenings that had occurred on Earth after they had passed on. After a fairly lengthy discussion that involved many explanations to Goku, the two had set off down the arduous road that they had been informed was Snake Way.

"Look Goku-san, let's just say that I know of what will happen within the next year or so, kind of like fortune telling. Okay?" Goku stopped running and put his hand to his chin, almost hitting the 'Thinker Pose' perfectly.

"I guess I do…." The Saiyan Warrior said absently.

"Good. Let's leave it at that then." Ono said while releasing his frustration in a giant sigh. "Shall we continue then, Goku-san?"

"Sure, and please call me Goku. I don't like honorifics on the end of my name."

"Fair enough." Ono replied as he and Goku started running again. After a few moments of silence Goku asked another question.

"So how far away is this place we're supposed to go?"

"I believe that Emma-san had said it was about one million miles or so." Ono answered with disdain in his voice. "Though I really hope that it is much closer than he said it was. I really don't feel like running that far non-stop."

"Uhmm…" Goku drawled unintelligibly. He didn't really know anything about miles and distance and the like. "How long will it take to get there?"

"Well," Ono tried to reply, thinking very deeply, "Math wasn't my best subject, but if I'm guessing right, we're running at about 80 mph, so that's….1920 miles per day, times 365 for days in a year…. About 700,000 miles per year…about one-and-a-half years." Ono said proudly. He was sure he wouldn't be able to figure a complex math problem like that in his head.

"One-and-a-half years? Isn't that Saiyan Prince supposed to show up in just one year?" Goku asked unsure.

"Uhm….Damn It! Why did King Emma send us on a goose chase if he knew we wouldn't be able to get there in time?" Ono yelled at no one in particular. Goku winced because he thought that he was the one being yelled at. Trying to think of a way to make Ono not angry at him, he rummaged through his pockets.

"Wait! King Emma gave me three pieces of fruit!" Goku said loudly and stopped running. Ono stopped also and turned around with an incredulous look on his face.

"How is fruit going to help us any. We're dead. We don't need to eat."

"Well, King Emma said that each fruit will double a person's strength, so if we eat these, we'll be able to make it there in time, right?" Goku asked hopefully.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ono said with near annoyance. Goku shrugged.

"I forgot. I do that a lot." Ono took a little time to ponder this. 'If I eat one of those fruit, my speed will double to 160 mph, and another half a fruit will increase my speed by 1.5 to 240 mph…that should be enough to get us there in six months or so…' Smiling happily, Ono replied to Goku's question.

"Yes, if we eat these, we will get there in six months or so, barring any setbacks." The duo hurriedly ate the fruit and started their way back through Snake Way, going remarkably faster than they had previously before.

-----------------------------------------------

Raditz awoke slowly to an unfamiliar ceiling. Groggily he sat up and looked around. He was in a bed which was currently in a sparsely furnished room with a single window. He threw off the covers and tried to sit up. Hot flashes of pain wracked his side and he immediately layed back down. He grumbled in annoyance as he looked at his side and noticed several bandages wrapped around his mid-section. He also noticed on a much lesser note that he was currently dress in a set of boxers, not his battle armor in which he was accustomed. He idly wondered where he was when the door opened and was surprised to see the same woman who had protected his life during the previous battle against Nappa. He gritted his teeth in mixed emotions. 'Ha! I defeated Nappa….with the help of Kakarott's human friends…..and this woman. Damn it! A saiyan being saved in battle by a woman….it's humiliating!' Nodoka ignored the flair of emotions that washed over the saiyan's face and walked in holding a large tray stuffed to the brim with food.

"I see that you're finally up. You've been asleep for nearly a day, and you have a severe wound on your side. I brought some food," she said glancing down at the tray she held in her hands, "I had a feeling that you're a heavy eater like my son, so I whipped up ten extra servings." She quickly placed the tray on the bedside stand and sat down on the edge. Reaching over to his side, she started to re-apply some of the bandages that had come loose when a hand suddenly prevented her from doing so.

"Look lady," Raditz said holding her hand in place, "I don't need you doting over me like a sick animal." He said as he started to sit up again, ignoring the pain in his side. "I saved you're life, and now you've saved mine. We're even." He added as he glanced around for his battle armor. Nodoka looked at him quizzically before allowing a grim look to come across her face.

"I don't care if you believe that I had my debt to you repaid. You ARE an injured man and if you continue to move around before you are healed you are going to aggravate your wound. Now lie back down now!" She said with hot authority. For reason's that are not quite clear to him, Raditz grudgingly obeyed and layed himself back down on the bed. He found himself getting angry due to this woman bossing him around, and then he found himself getting angry at himself for getting angry at her. Then became angry at himself for feeling bad about getting angry at her. Her voice brought him out of his clouded, angered musings.

"Well, are you going to eat this food that I slaved over the stove for the past two hours making or are you going to let it go to waste." She said accusingly. Sighing in defeat, Raditz reached over to the bed stand and started inhaling the food in normal saiyan fashion.

"You do eat like my son. It's good that you have such a healthy appetite." Nodoka said as she started to again to re-dress his wounds. "I'm afraid that you're clothing was completely worthless when you were brought here and had to be thrown away. I went shopping earlier and bought you suitably sized attire." She said pointing to the corner where a small, neat pile of clothes eluded his observation. "I bought casual wear and a set of slacks and a decent short-sleeved dress shirt. I'm sorry if I got you anything you don't like. I'm not exactly the richest of people and could only afford what I bought." Raditz snorted as he continued to obliterate his quickly diminishing tray of food. He let out a loud burp, signaling Nodoka that he was finished. Taking the empty tray, she stood up and walked out the door. She turned her head around and looked him square in the eyes.

"Now I want you to rest up and let yourself heal." She said as she started closing the door. "And I want no arguments either." She declared when she noticed the injured saiyan about to argue about staying in bed. The door closed, leaving Raditz to brood over his situation. He turned his hands into fists, restraining himself from breaking anything. Sighing in dejected defeat, he relaxed his hands and stared at the ceiling. He knew, no matter how much he didn't want to admit it, that he was going to do whatever the woman told him to, and resigned himself to that fact. Closing his eyes, he allowed sleep to encroach upon him. He figured that he might as well get some suitable rest. The sooner he healed properly, the sooner he could leave.

-----------------------------------------------

Bulma jumped around giddily in the basement of the Kuno Estate, gibbering madly over the blueprints of the gravity chamber that she held in her hands. Tatewaki sat in a chair nearby watching her antics cautiously and nervously. Before he even realized it, Bulma was kneeling in his lap with the blueprints shoved into his face.

"This is amazing! This piece of paper has all the information that I've been needing to finish the designs of the gravity room concept! Look at this! All I needed to do was increase the output of the infra-receptors located along the edges of the gravity generators by .789 deca-units, which then allows the capacitors to increase gamma wave inception nearly 3-fold, and by adding an inverted hydraulic flux mechanism, tweaked slightly to disallow gamma wave generation, onto the intake manifold completes the process for gravity manipulation to truly occur! It all makes so much sense now, makes me wonder why I never saw these solutions in the first place. Now that I do see them, I can modify and magnify several key components to drastically increase the effectiveness of the chamber itself. In a few days, I should be able to increase the gravity from the current maximum of 50 g's to 200 g's, though I would suggest not using that high of a gravity level until your bodies can handle such a high caliber training regimen."

"…..I'm glad I could be of some assistance….I think?" Kuno said questioningly. He looked at her with a serious expression as he took in the fact that she was kneeling on him with a piece of paper shoved in his face.

"Could you kindly get off of me please? I find this compromise of position to be very disreputable." Bulma stopped gabbing away about the modifications she was going to make and took a gander at her situation.

"Eeeekkk, get off of me you pervert!" She yelled, slapping him hard on the face the jumping out of his lap. From his new position on the ground, Kuno started muttering.

"It was you who jumped onto me in the first place, miss." He said, getting up and tenderly rubbing his cheek. Bulma looked at him strangely before going into a slight nervous giggle.

"Eheheheh, my bad?" She said blushing lightly before continuing determinedly, "Anyways, I should have the gravity chamber fully operational in about a week, nearly a month sooner than you're previous schedule, and far more effective."

"That's excellent news. Now all we need to do is gather everyone here within the week and we can start the real training. Watching everything unfold has truly started to make my blood boil with excitement. I may join everyone and continue my previous training regimens again." Kuno stated with vigor. Bulma smiled at him happily.

"That's great to hear. The more, the merrier!" she said before muttering quietly to herself, "I wonder how everyone else is doing."

-----------------------------------------------

Clink

"And this ball appears to be….Yes! Another home run for Yamcha! It's the third one he's hit in three at-bats and one more towards his league leading total of twenty-six, and its only the tenth game of the season!" As the announcer continued to drawl on about his stats, Yamcha trotted around the bases at a casual pace. Once finished, he entered the dugout and gave half-hearted high fives to his team-mates before sitting down in the corner and sulked quietly to himself.

"This isn't as fulfilling as I'd hoped it would be. I became an athlete so I could gain a lot of money and become famous world-wide, but none of it's making me happy." He said before he let his thought's drift towards his earlier fighting days. A smile crept over his face.

"Those were the days. All the training and adventuring, the fights and excitement…..that's the life I've been missing." He said before a frown replaced his smile, "but be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact in nearly every battle I've participated in, I've been next to useless. During those fights, I was always confident and cocky, yet one step behind, one move behind, one tactic behind everyone." His thought's further drifted towards Goku.

"Goku, always the hero, always the best." Yamcha said genuinely without angst. "He's the only one that ever believed in my abilities, and was always shocked whenever I didn't win a fight." He was reminded back to the time when he had battled the Mummy that old hag Baba had set as a test to see if he the group was worthy of her fortune-telling abilities. More specifically after his fight when he heard Goku say…

"'…Yamcha lost to him? How's that possible?' jeez, that's not the only time I've heard him say something like that. Almost every time I lost a fight I always heard Goku say something along the lines of 'How did Yamcha lose' and 'Why is his opponent winning'." Yamcha sighed and let shoulders sag heavily.

"I'm letting myself get too depressed. I need someone to talk to. Maybe I can try finding my parents again. It's been so long though; I can't even remember their names. The only thing I do remember is that they always got lost for some reason, which is pretty much why I took care of myself and became a bandit." The scoreboard lit up in a display a flashing colors signifying that the game was over. Knowing that his team won, he immediately made his way down into the locker room and started changing out of his uniform. He passed by his coach's office to say that he was heading out when he was motioned to come in by his coach.

"Phone call for you, some guy named Krillen. Sounds like his nose is stuffy, as if he has a cold." Yamcha grinned slightly. Krillen didn't have a nose and always sounded kind of nasally.

"Hey, what's happenin' Krillen, Haven't heard from you in a while."

(Not much….actually, a lot has happened. There are some things that I need to tell you, urgent things that need to be said in person. I've already talked to Tien and he's on his way with me to meet up with the group.)

"Uhh, okay. I'll head over as soon as I can. Uhhh….where do I go exactly? It doesn't sound like you're gonna meet up at Master Roshi's."

(We're heading to the Kuno Estate located in Nerima, Tokyo. It's one of the larger places so it shouldn't be too hard to find.)

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can." Yamcha put the phone down onto its cradle and turned to his manager.

"Sorry Coach, but things have turned up and I'm gonna have to leave the team for a while." Yamcha said as he walked out, not bothering to listen to the protests of his Coach about loosing his best player.

-----------------------------------------------

Off in the mountains, far away from any form of civilization, Piccolo floated high over the mountainside. Below him he watched Gohan as he trained by acclimating with the high altitude. He'd been out here for over a week watching and evaluating the boy as went through what Piccolo called 'survival training'. So far he witnessed with mixed results. Gohan seemed very capable once he gets over his crying fits and buckles down with reality. The problem is that he is still a child, and had the mentality of a child, and reality to a child is much different than that of an adult. Piccolo had little doubts that Gohan would be ready physically for the fight that will happen in a year hence, but didn't know about the child's emotional stability.

"Looks like I'll have to forego some training to ensure that he is ready. Besides, it's the perfect time to manipulate the boy into turning him against his father when he comes back, which is the reason why I took him in personally in the first place. What better way to remove a threat than with the demoralizing reality that it's your very flesh and blood that's about to end your life." Piccolo thought wickedly as he started floating downwards to observe his query at a better distance.

-----------------------------------------------

Raditz carefully removed the bandages from his still tender side. He'd been in bed for a little over two days, allowing his side to heal. Good thing the saiyan race healed quickly and Raditz himself healed faster than most other saiyans, which is part of the reason he had survived being in Frieza's army for as long as he had. Checking his side with his hands, he determined that he was capable of functioning adequately, or at least adequate enough for the environs on Earth. He stood up and stretched, removing the kinks that had built up from atrophy in his muscles. He looked around the room for the ump-teenth time, gathering it's sparsely furnished appearance into his mind. His gaze wandered over to where the pile of clothes that the woman…..Nodoka……had left them for his use. He nearly snarled at the thought of her.

'I can't believe I've let this woman coddle me for two days, wading on me hand and foot as if I was completely helpless and incompetent. It chafes my pride that a saiyan let a weak female take care of him.' Even as he thought this, he still couldn't allow himself to hate or even get angry at her.

"I need to reflect on my feelings and emotions. They are far to confusing for me right now, and I cannot do that while I'm in her presence." He slowly made his way to the clothes and sifted through them for something he deemed satisfactory. Grimacing at the lack of protection they gave him, he slipped on the short-sleeve dress shirt and a set of slacks. He did a few stretches and movements to ensure that he could move around without any constriction then walked over to the bed stand where the woman….where Nodoka had said she put his scanner. He opened the drawer and retrieved said item and slipped it into one of his pant pockets. He walked to the window and opened the blinds. It was night, the perfect time to leave without being noticed. He knew that if Nodoka knew he was leaving, then whatever was left of his nerve might abandon him and could prevent him from doing what he needed. Opening the window quitly, he jumped through it and landed on the wall that surrounded the property before jumping high into the air and flying away into the city skyline.

"I heard some movement and thought I would bring you a snack….huh?" Nodoka said as she opened the door and entered the room. "Where'd he go?"

-----------------------------------------------

Genma perched quietly on a tree branch, gazing across the park with a set of binoculars pressed against his eyes. The query of his focus was his son who is on the other side of the park practicing one of the advanced Anything-Goes Katas that Genma had personally taught his son. Currently, the bald martial artist was using one of his forbidden techniques from the Umisenken School he had created earlier in his youth; more precisely he was under the affect of the Goshin Dai Ryuusei Fu, to keep from being detected.

"Curse you boy." Genma said silently to himself, "How dare you run away from your duties and leave your poor fiancé behind for over a year. What a weak and cowardly son I have been cursed with." He said as he faked crying into his sleeve before realizing that there was no need to fake a crying fit seeing as that there was nobody around him. Quietly he slipped his hand into one of his pockets and pulled out a rolled-up scroll that had apparently been torn to pieces and been hastily taped back together. He opened it and quickly re-examined the information he needed before rolling it back up and putting it away.

"Don't worry boy, I won't allow you to simply ignore your family duties. Once I have applied the strength sapping moxibustion you'll do everything I tell you, or else I'll never free you from its effects." Genma knew that this was underhanded, even for himself, but he also knew that there probably wasn't any other way to kidnap the boy. From the brief reunion at the Dojo a couple days ago, Genma knew that his son had vastly increased in power, far more than he ever thought anyone was able to achieve, and the only way to safely apprehend him was to remove said power. Jumping down from the tree, he quickly but silently made his way towards Ranma's position on the far side of the park.

'Good thing I never taught the boy any of the flaws in my Umisenken techniques. He'll never see me coming.' Genma thought maliciously as he hid behind a tree that lined the clearing his son was currently practicing in. He took several dozen steps away from his hiding place in the direction of Ranma when a piece of cold steel suddenly flashed against his neck. He immediately stopped moving and heard a womanly voice from behind him.

"Hello husband."

-----------------------------------------------

Nodoka held the family honor sword against the neck of her erstwhile husband Genma Saotome. She had been walking towards the park to inform her son that Raditz had disappeared from the household when she detected a slight disturbance in the area behind her son. She immediately knew that it was Genma, recognizing the Goshin Dai Ryuusei Fu in work. She knew of the technique and the ways to detect it for she had been present when Genma had been developing the techniques of the Umisenken and the Yamisenken in which her husband had often told exactly how the moves worked and the weaknesses that each presented in case they were somehow stolen and used against the family. She quickly unsheathed her sword and methodically walked behind her husband and placed the unsharpened inner edge of the katana against the skin of the bald martial artist's neck.

"Hello husband." She said evenly and emotionlessly. "I wonder what you could be doing here, attempting to sneak up on our son in the invisibility of the Umisenken, hmm?" Genma's invisible shroud dispersed almost immediately afterwards and started sweating bullets. Instantly he went into one of his most used and favorite stances; the Crouch of the Wild Tiger. Nodoka sweat-dropped as she watched her husband grovel at her feet, babbling incoherently about anything he could think of.

"I suggest that you desist your pathetic and cowardly sniveling. It's not going to work, not with what I know about what you've done to my son while he was away with you on the training trip, the training trip that took him away from me for over 11 years. You're son was quite informative about all of your training methods, such as having him carry you while he ran from packs of hungry wolves, or about how told him that stealing is okay as long as he wasn't caught." Nodoka drawled on, pressing the katana into his neck harder with every sentence she finished. "But what truly makes me horrified was the fact that you threw him into a pit of starved cats several dozen times in the name of training. I cannot believe I was naïve enough to allow you to take him away from me, naïve enough to think that he would be safe with his own father, NAÏVE enough to think you an honorable man, husband, and father!" Nodoka nearly screamed. She noticed some movement off to the side and turned her head.

"Hello son. How are you doing today?" She asked Ranma sweetly, as if she were serving tea, not holding a sword to a person's neck.

"I'm doin' ok I guess. What's goin' on? I heard some yelling and came over to see what was happening." Ranma asked before eyeing the man hunched over on the ground.

"Hi pops. I see you're in quite the predicament. Sucks to be you huh?" He said casually with a hint on monotone in his voice.

"Ranma, my son, why don't you help out your father?" Genma asked pathetically. "Talk some sense into your mother." The pigtailed boy looked over at his mother for a few seconds, then back towards his father.

"Nah. I'm too lazy." Ranma said with a huge grin. Nodoka laughed at her son's reply, causing her sword to dig into Genma's neck, cutting slightly inwards. The bald martial artist gasped in slight pain and fear, squirming around on the ground desperately. During his movements, a rolled up scroll fell out of his gi and rolled away several feet. Ranma looked at it curiously before proceeding to pick it up and read it.

"Hey pops, why do you have the weakness moxibustion chart……." Ranma trailed off as he suddenly started thinking out several scenario's in his head before coming up with the most likely one he could think off.

"Genma," Ranma said coldly, "I really hope you were not planning to use this on me." Genma gulped when he felt Ranma's aura start to ignite wildly. Nodoka looked at her son quizzically.

"What are you looking at Ranma?" She asked.

"This….this is the strength sapping moxibustion that I told you about. No doubt he was planning to use it on me so I would end up marrying Akane." Nodoka growled in unhindered anger at the man currently curled up on the ground.

"Genma!" she exclaimed loudly.

"W-wait! I only wanted Ranma to realize that his family honor comes before everything else. He's obviously deluded into thinking that it's ok to turn his back on his family, and I only wanted him to see the error of his ways. Oh, to think that I raised such a dishonorable son." Genma spurted out in self assured reasoning. He didn't get a chance to continue his self righteous tirade before suddenly succumbing to unconsciousness. Ranma growled in anger as he hit his father hard in the back of the head.

"How….How dare he attempt such a stunt! If I had become weak, I wouldn't be able to help defend this planet. Does he realize the danger he nearly put the entire planet in!" Ranma yelled loudly to no one in particular. He turned to the closest tree and with a loud yell pulled it out of the ground and threw it as hard as he could into the nearby tree line. He took several moments to calm down before turning to his mother.

"I don't care what you do to him. As far as I'm now concerned, he's no longer my father." He said as he walked towards the clearing he had been practicing in and sat down with his back towards the unconscious man. Nodoka sighed sadly at her son before turning towards Genma with a gleam in her eye.

-----------------------------------------------

Ranma turned his head when he detected his mother approaching.

"So whatcha do to him?"

"It's 'what did you', not whatcha."

"Huh..?" Ranma said confused.

"I plan on helping you correct your language. I have no doubt that a dozen years without a mother has drastically hindered your social development, and I plan to correct it, starting with speech."

"Uhh…..okay." Ranma said somewhat stunned.

"To answer your question, let's just say that he won't be bothering us anytime soon. I also plan to divorce him, as questionable as that may seem in our society, to help remove his influence on this family."

"Well that's good I suppose. Anyways, whatcha……what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I came by to ask if you had seen our houseguest. He disappeared sometime in the past hour or so and was wondering if you had seen him." Ranma's face went immediately to a serious expression as he took in what his mother told him.

"I don't know where he is. I'm still not sure it was a good idea to help him in the first place." Ranma said warily. "If it came down to it, I don't think we could beat him now. I sensed that his power increased dramatically since the fight several days ago, beyond any of our abilities to take on anymore, even if everyone fought at once."

"Ranma dear, you still haven't told me what is going on. You keep saying you'll tell me, but you always avoid it somehow." Ranma sighed dejectedly as he looked into his mother's eyes.

"I didn't want to tell you….but I suppose that would be stupid. You're a smart woman and would have figured it out eventually." Ranma paused trying to figure out the right way to say what he needed.

"Ok, it's like this. A little more than a year ago, two injured men claiming to be from the future entered Cologne's restaurant……" Ranma told his mother of all the happenings that had happened within the past year, about how the Saiyan race would come and try to sell off the planet to the highest bidder on a planetary market. When he ended he looked at his mother's face for any sign as to what she was thinking.

"Mom…are you alright?" Ranma asked. Nodoka looked into her son's eyes and smiled.

"I'm just….shocked I suppose. Am I to assume then that the man we were taking care of….Raditz…..is of this alien race?"

"Well….yes. He's the one that I was training for over the past year."

"I see….he seemed like such a nice man." She said with sadness. Noticing his mother's emotional state, Ranma put an arm around her in an attempt to soothe her.

"It's ok mom. If it make you feel better, he did seem to extremely nice and compliant whenever you were around him. Nodoka leaned her head onto her son's shoulder.

"Do you really think so?" she said almost hopefully.

"Yeah," Ranma replied, "but that makes me wonder what's really going on. We were told that only one Saiyan would show up, but two came. Raditz was supposed to be a truly horrible person, devoid of any nice qualities, but he actually seemed to be a rather calm and conscientious person. Things aren't adding up, and it really has me worried. I mean, if what we were told is turning out different, then what's to say that something else will turn out different, maybe for the worse….." Ranma trailed off deep in thought. Nodoka lifted her head from Ranma's shoulder. She reached her hand over and turned his face to meet hers.

"Ranma, I can tell that this truly worries you, but I want to tell you something. Throughout all the stories you've told me, you always come up on top, always one step ahead. You never give up, even if everything seems hopeless. You always try your hardest, and you always find a way to solve the problem. I have faith in you that no matter what happens, you'll be able to overcome anything that the future decides to throw at you, no matter how impossible it seems to be." Ranma stared into his mother's eyes, seeing all the hope and faith that shimmered from them. He smiled and gathered her into a big hug, mindful not to crush her in his enormous strength.

"Thanks mom," He said, still holding onto her, "I think that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"That's what mothers are for." She said happily into his ear. He loosed his hold onto her and grinned.

"Man, I wish you'd been with me the entire time. I bet you would have solved every problem that ever happened to me."

"Well now that you're back, I plan on doing just that."

-----------------------------------------------

End of Chapter 3


End file.
